June 26, 2002
Page B6
Stamping
Out HIV
Weekend events
bring serious
message and tests
for HIV/Hepatitis C
An additional or replacement span with two lanes for light rail would increase the size of the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River from 6 to 10 lanes under a
proposal by an Oregon and Washington commission.
photo by M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver
1-5 Bridge with 10 Lanes Proposed
Bi-state partnership makes final recommendation for traffic improvements
The Portland/Vancouver 1-5
Transportation and Trade Part
nership Task Force has released
final recommendations on poten
tial transportation improvements
in the 1-5 corridor through north
Portland to Vancouver.
The Task Force approved the
strategic plan by a vote o f 24 in
favor and one opposed. The
motion to pass the final recom
mendations was made jointly by
Mayors Vera Katz and Royce
Pollard and seconded by Com
missioners Craig Pridemore and
Serena Cruz.
The final recommendations in
clude three through-lanes in each
direction on 1-5, including south
bound through Delta Park.
A phased light rail loop in Clark
County in the vicinity o f the 1-5,
SR500/4'h Plain and 1-205 corri
dors.
An additional span or a replace
ment bridge for the 1-5 crossing of
the Columbia River, with up to 2
additional lanes in each direction
for merging and 2 light rail tracks
for a grand total o f 10 lanes.
The group said interchange
im provem ents and additional
merging lanes where needed be
tween SR500 in Vancouver and
Columbia Boulevard in Portland.
These include a full interchange
at Columbia Boulevard.
A recommendation for capac
ity improvements for freight rail
r t la ttò (l)h s i'r u e r
w w w . p o r 11 a n d o b s erv er.co m
was also approved, along with bi
state coordination o f land use and
management o f our transporta
tion system to reduce demand on
the freeway and to protect the
corridor investments.
The proposal calls for involv
ing communities along the corri
dor to ensure that the final project
outcomes are equitable.
The strategic plan now will be
sent to the Oregon Transporta
tion Commission, the W ashing
ton State Department o f Trans
portation and to the metropolitan
planning organizations in Port
land and SW Washington for re
view and potential adoption into
their transportation plans. The
next step after adoption into the
regional transportation plans
would be an Environmental Im
pact Study (EIS) o f which addi
tional public involvement and En
vironmental Justice efforts would
be key components.
T he A fric a n A m erican
Health Coalition is seeing a
continuous disproportionate
amount o f low-income young
women having unprotected
sex and unplanned pregnan
cies who are at high risk o f
HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS.
T he g ra s s -ro o ts g ro u p
would like to see a change in
the num bers o f low -incom e
young women having unpro
tected sex and unplanned
pregnancies and would like
to see the HIV testing num
bers go up this year o f all
A frican Am ericans.
G etting tested for HI V is a
good habit for w ellness and
this Saturday, June 29 and
Sunday June 30, you can get
tested for free and enjoy com
edy and theater by renow ned
com edian, Norman Mitchell.
State health division sta
tistics show that w hites ac
count for 82 percent o f AIDS
cases among Oregon women,
but A frican A m ericans are
over represented. They make
up less than 2 percent o f the
state’s female population, but
account for 10 percent o f fe
male AIDS cases.
L e t’s turn those num bers
around by b ecom ing e d u
cated and by being tested ,
d o n ’t leave anyone o u t,”
said D ora A sana o f the c o a
lition.
Free food, free comedy and
free HIV/Hep C testing will
take place during a youth
event on Saturday, June 29lh
at 3 p.m. at the Matt D ishm an
Center, 77 N.E. Knott. HIV
testing will be available at the
center at 2 p.m.
The adult event is Sunday
June 30lh at 5:30 p.m. a, the
Miracles Club, 4069 N.E. Mar
tin Luther King Jr. Blvd. There
will be free HIV testing avail
able at the club at 4 p.m.
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